Empathy At It's Finest (One-Shot)
by Julie-Baka
Summary: Professor Severus Snape is not one to care about or even notice a student who isn't in Slytherin, but when a student from another house begins to act strange then Snape becomes curious about her behavior. Little does Snape know that he is about to save this girl's life without even knowing it; and as a result, he'll be shown empathy at it's finest.


_This one-shot is loosely based on a real experience. It takes place about three years or so before Harry Potter started attending Hogwarts. I would appreciate any comments or constructive criticism that you can offer. I hope you enjoy this one-shot, and I thank you for your time._

* * *

There she was, sitting in Potions class and taking notes furiously with a scowl on her face. She was a good student who was in her final year at Hogwarts; always quiet, but usually not unhappy. This day was different; in fact, the last 3 months have been very different. The usually content and obedient student that Professor Snape had sitting in the very front row of his class since her very first day at Hogwarts, was now cold and temperamental.

Snape usually didn't pay any mind to students who were not placed in Slytherin house, but this girl had peeked his interest after she began showing her true interest in Potions; she was a perfectionist, practical and realistic, with a deep respect for authority figures and an extremely negative reaction to public embarrassment. It seemed odd, but sometimes when he looked at her while she was intensely focused on her work, he could almost see himself when he was younger; back when he was attending Hogwarts as a student.

"Class dismissed." Snape said coldly after finishing his lecture.

As expected, the students eagerly began to pack up and hurry out of the classroom.

The girl looked up from her notes with a dull, blank, expression. She then sighed and slowly got up and began packing up her things.

"C'mon! Let's go!" One of her friends eagerly called from the doorway.

Without even glancing behind her, she replied with, "Just go without me. I'll be there in a minute."

Her friend just shrugged and left with everyone else.

"You should hurry up and get to class." Snape said coldly, standing in front of the girl's desk and looking down at her. From the way she looked from this angle, Snape once again felt as if he was looking down at his young self.

"Yes, Sir…" She replied in a monotone voice;not normal compared to the obedient tone she spoke in before.

Snape didn't like this change at all. It almost felt as if he just lost some respect from his student.

"Might I ask what has been bothering you these past 3 months?" Snape demanded.

She looked up at Snape.

"Nothing's wrong, Sir." She replied with a clearly fake smile. "I'm fine."

As she absentmindedly brush her dark hair away from her face, Snape noticed the dark circles that had formed under her eyes throughout those last 3 months, and though she was always pale, the usual healthy tinge of pink in her face was replaced with a pallid, sickly, look.

"Oh really?" Snape raised and eyebrow, questioning her statement.

She seemed to sense his skepticism because she began to pack up faster.

"Yes. I…I'm just tired is all." She said hurriedly as she gabbed her stuff and began to head out the door. "I'm fine, Sir. Really."

She left, leaving Snape with a feeling of suspicion.

What was she up to?

The next day, after Snape dismissed the class the girl got up from her seat in a hurry. No doubt, trying to avoid any more questioning from Snape, who was now walking over to her.

"Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you." Snape said in his usual cold tone, interrupting her as she had just started to pack up her things.

Dumbledore did not specify why he needed to speak with her, but luckily she did not question why. She didn't even look up at Snape. She just quietly said, "Okay…", packed up, and left to Dumbledore's office.

The next day, the girl acted a bit stranger in class. The whole time that Snape was lecturing, she was just staring at him with an almost understanding, yet depressing, look.

Snape wasn't sure what to think of this. Frankly, it made him feel awkward.

What did Dumbledore tell her?

The next day, Snape was heading over to Dumbledore's office to speak with him for personal reasons when he saw the girl walking through the corridors alone, scowling at the few people, who were most likely going to Hogsmeade, passing her.

Suddenly a Slytherin boy stepped out in front of her from around a corner ahead. Snape recognized the student of his and half-hid in the shadow of the corner on the opposite end of the corridor. This Slytherin was probably one of the most obnoxious students Snape has had so far. The student was smart, but he had a personality that almost mimicked James Potter; to sum it all up, this student of his was the only Slytherin who managed to cost Slytherin hundreds of points throughout the past 7 years, and though Slytherin had managed to win against the other houses anyway, Snape had to closely observe what the boy did. At least if Snape caught him causing trouble, then he could make sure that Slytherin wouldn't lose any points on this moron's behalf.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The boy greeted the girl with a smile. "There's a Hogsmeade trip today!"

"GO. AWAY." The girl hissed.

She tried to go around him, but he quickly blocked her path.

"Don't ignore me!" The boy complained. "I wanna talk to you!"

"Well _**I**_ don't want to talk to _**YOU**_!" The girl snapped. "So stop bugging me!"

She tried to get past him again, but he kept blocking her.

"You know, you can't just keep brooding like this!" The boy said in a fake concerned tone. "It's very immature and rude of you!"

"No! It's immature and rude of _**YOU TO NOT STOP BOTHERING ME WHEN I TELL YOU TOO**_!" The girl snapped, baring her teeth. She was clearly losing her patience with the boy.

"Well, somebody's having a hissy-fit today!" The Slytherin boy snickered. "I should just start calling you 'Mini-Snape'."

Snape made a mental note to give this boy detention tomorrow.

"Go ahead." The girl replied in a monotone voice. "Have fun with that, _**Boy**_."

"DON'T CALL ME _**'BOY'**_!" The Slytherin boy snapped, now looking almost as angry as the girl.

"YOU _**ARE**_ A BOY! YOU _**ACT**_ LIKE ONE!" She was fully enraged; and before Snape could do anything, the girl had taken out her wand, grabbed the collar of the boy's shirt, and held her wand to his throat. "SO JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE OR I SWEAR I'LL-"

The boy interrupted her before she could finish her threat.

"What? You'll kill me!?" The boy asked, laughing mockingly. "Wasn't it just a couple days ago that you said you still loved me?"

"SHUT! UP!" The girl yelled with a look of pure rage as she swiftly lowered her wand."JUST SHUT UP AND GO AWAY! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT I WISH I WAS DEAD AND SOMEDAY I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! YOU MORONIC CHILDISH BOY!

Then the girl shoved the boy out of the way and broke into a full sprint.

Snape, who had just witnessed the whole thing, now just stared with a look of pure shock, unsure what to think or do.

A few days later, Snape was sitting in his office and grading papers, when he heard a knock on the door.

"Yes! What is it!?" Snape snapped, irritated about somebody interrupting his work.

The door opened and none other than the girl apprehensively walked in.

"Uh…Professor…" The girl said quietly.

Snape looked up at her and noticed that her eyes were red and puffy. It looked like she had been crying.

"C-can I just speak with you for a bit?" She asked timidly.

"About what?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I've done something…stupid…and…" The girl paused, looking very nervous.

"Yes?" Snape coxed her to continue, now interested in what she had done.

"Well…I…" She paused. "Have you ever…uh…"She paused again. "After you became…er…" She paused once again, and she looked scared.

Snape was slightly annoyed by the girl's apprehension.

"Get on with it," Snape demanded.

The girl was noticeably startled.

"Uh…I…n-nevermind…"She mummbled as she turned to leave. "Sorry I wasted your time, Sir…"

And with that, the girl left; leaving Snape slightly curious.

In the evening that day, Snape was walking up to Dumbledore's office, but as he reached the door he could hear Dumbledore speaking with someone, and stopped to listen in order to determine if he should interrupt Dumbledore's conversation.

"Why would you even consider such a thing!?" Dumbledore's voice demanded from inside the room.

"I…I just…" Snape heard a girl's voice stuttering.

"After what I told you, you still did it!" Dumbledore scolded in disbelief. "This is not what I had intended for you to learn when I told you that story!"

"I'm sorry…I…" The girl's voice whimpered.

"What were you thinking!?" Dumbledore scolded.

"I-I don't know…it j-just was a m-moment of weakness…" The girl's voice was quivering. She sniffed a little before continuing. "I gave in to my demented horrible mind!" The girl cried. Snape could hear heavy sobbing. "It's like I had no control over my own thoughts! I don't know what's wrong with me and I wish I was dead!" The sobbing became quieter. "I…I need help…normal people don't think this way…"

"I still don't know how you found someone who isn't in Azkaban to give you that. I'll see what I can do to get you some help…but understand that now you'll have to live with your decision for the rest of your life." Dumbledore sighed. "There's no turning back."

"I understand…" The crying had stopped almost completely.

"You may go back to your common room now." Dumbledore said sympathetically. "Get some rest."

Snape heard whoever was talking to Dumbledore get up and begin walking towards the door, so he stepped back a bit just as the door opened. It was the girl who walked out, wiping tears out of her eyes.

Snape, not expecting to see her walk out, just stared at her, surprised.

The girl seemed to notice him, because she blushed and hurried away.

The next month on the finale day of school, Snape noticed a big change in how the girl acted. As he lectured the class he could see her sitting with a small but real smile on her face and writing something happily.

When Snape dismissed the class, the girl packed up happily and gently folded up the paper she was writing on.

Her sudden change was odd, and it made Snape suspicious about what happened to the girl.

Later that evening after dinner, Snape was sitting in his office, happy that the students would be leaving in the morning. Suddenly, his peace and quiet was broken by the sound of a cat meowing outside his door.

"Mew…mew moew!"

Snape, slightly annoyed, got up and opened the door to shoo the cat away, but stopped when he saw the cat holding a letter in it's mouth.

The cat let out a muffled "Murrrow!" and stood up with it's front paws on Snape's legs to support itself, offering the letter to Snape.

Snape took the letter and the cat let out a "Mee!", got back on all fours, and begins to rub against Snape's legs, purring.

Snape ignored the cat's pleas for attention and looked at the outside of the letter curiously. There was no sign of who it was from.

At the same time, the cat tried to get Snape's attention by making various meows.

"Mee Mew! Meow Mow! Mew Mrrrow!"

Snape looked at the cat, who proceeded to pout and then leave with it's tail high and nose in the air snootily. Snape wondered for a second who at Hogwarts owns a cat like that, then went back inside his office to read the letter.

He sat back down at his desk and opened up the letter. There was no signature.

The letter read:

_Dear Professor Snape, _

_I'm sorry to interrupt whatever you're doing at the moment, but I need to say something I should have said a long time ago. I want to say thank you for everything you have done to help me. You may not know what I'm talking about, but I want you to know that you helped me out more than you'll ever know. I hope you can forgive how I have been in the past. I understand everything now, and I can now truthfully say that I feel every little bit of your pain. You are the reason I was able to get the help I needed and be me again. I owe you my life._

Snape just stared at the anonymous letter in shock.


End file.
